Spicy Basil – Cheap but Average

Spicy Basil is a restaurant I’ve read in many articles as one of the top cheap places to eat in London. Being a lover of Thai food and struggling to find a decent, authentic Thai restaurant, I had to see what Spicy Basil had to offer.

Spicy Basil is easy to find on Kilburn High road with the restaurant being a 10 minute walk from Kilburn tube station or a 5 minute walk from Kilburn High Road overground station. You may find however that Spicy Basil isn’t exactly the most glamorous restaurant.

The interior of the restaurant is extremely small and if you’re dining in a small party prepare to make friends with your neighbours. If you wanted to find a quiet, intimate restaurant or you’re having a catch up with friends, then this isn’t the place as noise levels can become extremely high.

Stuffed Golden Bags and Spring Rolls

For starters we ordered stuffed golden balls alongside spring rolls. Unfortunately both of these arrived after our main courses as we requested the food arrive when it was ready. We weren’t expecting how late these would arrive, which meant we had nearly finished our main courses and were full.

Both starters were crispy and a little on the greasy side since they had just come out of the deep fryer. Both starters were un-memorable and average at best which was a shame.

Beef Yellow Curry

The OH ordered a beef yellow curry and although the curry tasted silky and smooth and the portion size was generous, it wasn’t authentic. I’ve never had a Thai curry with peas, carrots or courgettes in and it felt like an attempt by the kitchen staff to use up left over vegetables.

Chicken Red Curry

My curry arrived on the table 5 minutes later and I was met with the same predicament, carrots, courgettes and this time red peppers and noodles. The curry was pleasant enough but it was just odd and didn’t have the same flavours found in authentic Thai curries. There was no heat, sharpness or sweetness and it tasted very much of an English interpretation of Thai cuisine even though the staff weren’t English. What a let down.